Kerberos Panzer Jäger

Main article: Kerberos saga

Kerberos Panzer Jäger (ケルベロス 鋼鉄こうてつの猟犬りょうけん, Keruberosu kōtetsu no ryōken, lit. Kerberos Hound of Steel) is a 2006 radio drama series written by Japanese filmmaker and novelist Mamoru Oshii. It first aired in Nippon Cultural Broadcasting.

Story

Background information

Further information: Kerberos saga

Kerberos Panzer Jager is part of the Kerberos Saga multimedia franchise. While most of the saga's installments concern the downfall of the Tokyo police's armored Kerberos Unit, Kerberos Panzer Jager is a prequel set during an alternate World War II. In this timeline, the United States remained isolationist, refusing to enter the war, while the Empire of Japan allied itself with Britain and France against Nazi Germany. In this alternate timeline, Hitler has been successfully assassinated by Claus von Stauffenberg, leading to a purge of Nazi elements from the government. Advanced suits of powered armor, called 'Protect Gear', allow the Germans to win the Battle of Stalingrad. The term Panzer Jäger in the title refers not to tank-hunter units, as in real life, but to these armored infantry units, whose equipment goes on to form the basis for the Kerberos Unit's armor in later installments.

Plot

English map of Cpt. Maki's route from Warsaw to Stalingrad (courtesy of Hobby Japan)

In September 1942, Captain Maki Stauffenberg, in command of the 808th Propagandakompanie, leaves Warsaw station on an armored train to start her long journey into Soviet territory. A filmmaker originally affiliated with UFA GmBH, she has been tasked with creating a propaganda film about the exploits of the 101st Panzer Jäger Battalion. Tainted by association with the displaced Nazi regime, the 101st has been committed to bloody frontline battles against the Soviets without respite, achieving stunning combat results in the process. However, Maki Stauffenberg, the half-Japanese niece of Hitler's killer, has taken on the mission for her own reasons.

Characters

Further information: Kerberos saga characters

• Captain Maki Stauffenberg
• Sergeant Major Hollerbach
• Corporal Lauth
• Captain Deisler
• Major Klose
• Sergeant Beinlich
• Sergeant Kahn

Chapters

Interview program

• 2006.04.26: Interview Part.1: Radio drama's appeal

(ラジオドラマの魅力みりょくを探さぐる)

• 2006.04.26: Interview Part.2: Listeners questions about Kerberos Panzer Jäger

(ケルベロス鋼鉄こうてつの猟犬りょうけん)を語かたる

• 2006.04.26: Kenji Kawai & Mamoru Oshii

(川井かわい憲次けんじ×押井おしい守まもる)

Drama program

Act I: Armoured Train

(装甲そうこう列車れっしゃ編へん, Sōkō ressha hen)

• 2006.04.31: Vol.1: Propagandakompanie (Propaganda Company)

(宣伝せんでん中隊ちゅうたい, Senden chūtai)

• 2006.06.28: Vol.2: Kursk

(クルスク, Kurusuku)

• 2006.07.26: Vol.3: Kriegspferd (Charger)

(軍馬ぐんば, Gunba)

Act II: Panzer Jäger

(装甲そうこう猟りょう兵へい, Sōkō ryoū hei)

• 2006.08.30: Vol.1: Die Langen Kerle Potsdam (Potsdam Giant Guards)

(ポツダムの巨人きょじん兵へい, Potsudamu no kyojin hei)

• 2006.09.27: Vol.2: Die Dritte Armee (The Third Army)

(第だい三さんの軍隊ぐんたい, Daisan no gunntai)

Act III: Blitzkrieg

(電撃でんげき戦せん, Dengeki sen)

• 2006.11.10: Vol.1: Blumenkrieg (Flower War)

(花はなの戦争せんそう, Hana no sennsou)

• 2006.11.24: Vol.2: Westaufklärung (Study of the West)

(西方せいほう研究けんきゅう, Seihō kenkyu)

Act IV: Barbarossa

(バルバロッサ, barubarossa)

• 2007.01.12: Vol.1: Säuberung (Purge)

(粛清しゅくせい, Syukusei)

Licensed products

Books

• 2007.04: Kerberos Panzer Jäger Official Guide Book (official guide book)

Japanese text, Mamoru Oshii, Barque, 32p.

Production

Cast

• Yoshiko Sakakibara: Cpt. Maki Stauffenberg (マキ・シュタウフェンヴェルク大尉たいい)
• Michihiro Ikemizu: Sgt. Major Hollerbach (ホラーバッハ曹長そうちょう)
• Yuya Uchida: Cpl. Lauth (ラウト伍長ごちょう)
• Masashi Ebara: Cpt. Deisler (ダイスラー大尉たいい)
• Ikuya Sawaki: Mjr. Klose (クローゼ少佐しょうさ)
• Tetsuo Goto: Sgt. Beinlich (バインリヒ軍曹ぐんそう)
• Otoya Kawano Sgt. Kahn (カーン軍曹ぐんそう)

Production staff

• Original story / Scenario / Director: Mamoru Oshii
• Music: Kenji Kawai
• Sound director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
• Recording: 宮澤みやざわ二郎じろう
• Effects: 伊藤いとう道広みちひろ (Soundring)
• 音楽おんがく制作せいさく: 安田やすだ玲子れいこ /　仲野なかの智子さとこ　/ 奥澤おくさわ麻由美まゆみ /　大久保おおくぼ絵美えみ (Aube Inc.)
• 音響おんきょう制作せいさく担当たんとう: 好こう永えい伸恵のぶえ
• 音響おんきょう制作せいさく: フォニシア
• 録音ろくおんStudio: Tokyo TV Center
• Supervisor: 小泉こいずみ聰さとし

Recording staff

• Recording Engineer: Kitagawa Teruaki /　Kyouhei Fukushiro
• Strings: 内田うちだ輝あきら Group　
• A.Piano: Tohru Shigemi
• Keyboards: Kenji Kawai
• Recording studio: 一口ひとくち坂ざか Studio /　Aube Studio /　i@ Recording Studio
• Assistant Engineer: 山本やまもと篤あつし士し /　中田なかた武士たけし /　菊地きくち和孝かずたか (一口ひとくち坂ざか Studio) / 長谷部はせべ智子さとこ (Aube Studio) / 見み留とめ由紀ゆき (i@ Recording Studio)

Musical theme

• Die Antwort ("the answer"):

Composer:　Paolo Bozzola

Arrangement:　Kenji Kawai

Vocal:　Akane Kawabe

See also

• Battle of Stalingrad
• Operation Barbarossa
• Battle of Kursk

Notes

The surnames of the German soldiers seem to be taken from professional soccer players Bernd Hollerbach, Benjamin Lauth, Sebastian Deisler, Miroslav Klose, Stefan Beinlich and Oliver Kahn.

On late May 2006, Mamoru Oshi announced plans to direct an anime adaptation of Kerberos Panzer Jäger, to be produced in 2009 with the use of 3DCG. However, there has been no recent news regarding this project.

Images of the Last Battalion, a short CGI fan film produced in 2005 featuring German power armor suits in a WW2 setting, was screened at the Kerberos saga radio drama series launch party as a trailer.

Sources

• Kerberos Panzer Jäger official website (Japanese)
• Kerberos Panzer Jäger@Raiden Kinema channel 2 (kinema) (Japanese)
• Kerberos Panzer Jäger@Raiden Kinema channel 9 (archives) (Japanese)
• Mamoru Oshii's official website (Japanese)
• Kenji Kawai's official website (Japanese/English)
• JOQR Radio (Japanese)
• Images of the Last Battalion@Digital Frontier Grand Prix 2005 (Japanese)
• DCAJ Digital Contents Association of Japan (Japanese/English)
• Digital Hollywood Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine (Japanese)
• Axis Animation (English)
• Watch Impress (Japanese)

External links

• Keruberosu Koutetsu No Ryōken Gaisetsu Wiki (Japanese)
• Kerberos saga official website (Japanese)